Manchester United News: Solskjaer promised 3 New signings after Barca loss
What's the story?
Ole Gunnar Soskjaer's Manchester United side succumbed to a 3-0 loss away at the Nou Camp to Barcelona in the Quarterfinal 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League, with Lionel Messi scoring a brace. United looked clueless for large stretches of the game, looking equally weak in attack and defence. According to Manchester Evening News, the loss has prompted the club management to promise three new signings for Solskjaer to improve the squad for next season.
In case you didn't know...
The Spanish champions romped into the semifinals with a 4-0 aggregate win, having beaten the Red Devils 1-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg. Any semblance of a fight shown by Man United in the first leg lost all steam in the second leg, as Barcelona put on a dominant display on their home ground.
Lionel Messi scored a sensational solo goal from outside the box to put Barca ahead at the Nou Camp. Nutmegging a hapless Fred, the mercurial magician curled the ball past David de Gea to record his first ever quarterfinal goal. Barcelona doubled their advantage in the 20th minute, this time de Gea letting a mid-range shot from Messi slip under his body into the goal. The dominating display put on by the Blaugrana was capped with a sensational, signature long ranger from Philippe Coutinho after the hour mark.
The heart of the matter
The biggest underperformers over two legs were the ageing Ashley Young playing as a wingback, Paul Pogba who was unable to control things in midfield and Marcus Rashford, who missed an easy chance in the starting minutes of the 2nd leg.
United's transfer dealings have been abysmal of late as the club is still struggling to find a Director of Football. The Red Devils are a disappointing 6th in the English Premier League standing and with only 5 games to go look unlikely to finish within the top 4 automatic Champions League qualification spots.
Manchester Evening News has reported that yesterday's debacle has prompted the management to promise Solskjaer 3 new signings. A right-back is urgently needed to replace the injury-prone and ageing Antonio Valencia. The addition of a world-class central defender has been deemed necessary by Solskjaer, Mike Phelan and the rest of the backroom staff at United with Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Real Madrid's Raphael Varane potential candidates under consideration.
Perhaps the most important role to be filled during the transfer season will be that of a right winger, a position United has been struggling to find suitable players for. Borussia Dortmund sensation Jadon Sancho is a priority target for the Red Devils in this regard.
With Ander Herrera's apparent departure to Paris Saint-Germain, a central midfield reinforcement might also be required.
What's next?
The Red Devils face Everton away this Sunday in the English Premier League. With just five games left in the season and United, Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal all within striking distance of a top four spot, every game is must-win for Solskjaer and company
